Device or appliance for the protection of canal-lock gates.



N. W. GOWAN.

DEVICE 0B. APPLIANCE FOR THE PROTECTION OF CANAL LOOK GATES.

- APPLICATION FILED nun. 9, 1911.

1,030,580, Patented June 25,1912. 7

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UNITED STATES PATEN T UFFICEQ NASSAU WILKINSON GOWAN, OF ST. CATHARINES,ONTARIO, CANADA, ASSIG-NOR OF THREE-FIFTHS T0 JAMES BATTLE, OF THOROLD,CANADA.

DEVICE OB APPLIANCE FOR PROTECTION OF CANAL-LOCK GATES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NASSAU WILKINSON GOWAN, of the city of St.Catharines, in the county of Lincoln, in the Province of Ontario,Canada, gentleman, having invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Devices or Appliances for the Protection of Canal-Lock Gates dohereby declare that the following is-a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in devices orappliances for the protection of canal lock-gates; and the objects of myinvention arefirst to protect and guard against canal lock-gates frombeing carried away and torn from their holdings or positions byaccidental or other contact with vessels entering canal locks; sec 0nd,to insure a true mitering of such lock gates; and third, to insure thelock gates remaining in the quoins provided for them. I attain theseobjects by the device or appliance illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing in which Figure 1 is a plan of a pair of lock gates mitered inthe usual closed position showing the position of the upper pair offingers on the gates. Fig. 2, is a plan showing the position of thegates when one of them is struck by a vessel and pushed partly open andshowing how the finger a supports the end of the gate leaf Z) holding itin its normal. position.

a represents a finger firmly attached to the gate leaf b a represents afinger firmly attached to the gate leaf Z) 0 represents the direction ofwater pressure.

d and (Z represents recesses in the lock wall to receive the finger aand 0/ when the gates are open.

6 represents the bow of a vessel striking one leaf of the gate.

The number of fingers to be attached to Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 9, 1911.

Patented June 25, 1912.- Serial No. 613,460.

each gate leaf will depend on the height of the gates, their verticalstrength and the pressure of water against them, the object being tohave sufficient fingers on the gate leaf 6, for instance, to hold it inposition when its supporting leaf Z) is driven away from it. The fingersare arranged in pairs on the different leaves of the gate in such amanner that the fingers on one leaf will be both inside, or in thealternative will be both outside, the fingers on the other gate. Thereason for the fingers being so placed is to counteract the tendency ofone leaf to lift up when the other is struck by a vessel.

At present when a vessel strikes one leaf of a lock gate, and they veryrarely strike exactly in the angle between the leaves, one leaf isforced open and away from the other leaf andthis leaf losing its supportis invariably carried away by the pressure of water against it, but byreason of this invention attached as above described, the lock gateloaves, even when subjected to such pressure, are held from beingcarried away and when the vessel recedes in the lock the leaves, beingguided by the fingers, return to their normal and correct position. Inbuilding new gates the fingers might economically form part of theregular construction instead of being attached as above described.

I claim as my invention The combination with canal lock-gates of guidefingers secured to the meeting edges thereof and overlapping each other,whereby said gates are prevented from being carried away by pressure orrush of water when they have been accidentally forced apart by theimpact of a vessel and are guided to normal position when such impact isremoved.

NASSAU WILKINSON GOVVAN.

In the presence of THOMAS FRANCIS BATTLE, WVINNIFRED STEVENS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

